EXTENDING CHINESE MANDARIN (CM) TRAINING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000415 C O R R E C T E D C O P Y//ADDED DIR FSINFATC// SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: APER AMGT AFSI CM TW SUBJECT: EXTENDING CHINESE MANDARIN (CM) TRAINING CORRECTED COPY Refs: A. STATE 11775 BEIJING 00000415 001.4 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The First and Second Tour (FAST) Committee in Beijing appreciates the expanded Chinese Mandarin (CM) language training opportunities as announced by the Director General reftel. To further expand the Department's corps of Chinese speakers and strengthen existing competencies, the FAST Committee recommends an extension of the new training program, with a few modifications, for those who came into the Foreign Service with Chinese language skills. Our proposal would leverage the skills of incoming officers to build a pool of 4/4 or better Chinese language speakers at the FS-03 and FS-02 levels. This is critical to expanding long-term professional needs in China. Our specific language training proposal in paragraph four envisions a program offering two year continued individualized training opportunities in China. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The Beijing FAST Committee appreciates the new Chinese language training opportunities as outlined reftel. The Director General and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) have recognized the importance of ensuring that entry level officers obtain general professional proficiency in Mandarin early in their careers. This new program is a very effective way of expanding the Department's corps of Chinese speakers. Improved Chinese language skills will be vital in advancing our national interests in what President Obama has called "the most important" bilateral relationship in the world. ¶3. (U) There is another group of officers whose language skills the Department should build on: those who come into the Foreign Service with a strong base in Chinese language but who with additional training could reach 4/4 or higher. Due to the success of programs such as the Critical Needs Language (CNL) program and National Security Education Program (NSEP) as well as an expanded focus of U.S. colleges and universities on Mandarin language instruction, the Department has hired an increasing number of 2/2 or 3/3 proficiency level CM speakers. Many have not taken the Department's 44- or 88-week Chinese training courses. ¶4. (U) We propose that the Department provide officers who enter the Foreign Service with 2/2 or 3/3 Chinese skills the same two-year, mid-level language training option currently provided to officers who are starting from 0/0. Offering this training would build officer's high-level Chinese language skills much earlier in their careers than would be the case under the current system. Specifically, that would mean that Chinese-speaking tenured FS-04 and FS-03 officers who bid on Chinese language-designated positions but who have not gone through the full course of FSI Chinese language training previously would be given the option to take two years of Chinese training: Year one: 12 months of "beyond three" Mandarin study at a field school (CET in Beijing or CLASS/AIT); Year two: 12 months of full-time, customized, individual training in China while assigned to a Chinese language post under the direction of the Post Language Coordinator in Taipei or Beijing. Opportunities for year two include but are not limited to graduate study coursework in Chinese at leading Chinese universities, think tank research in Chinese institutions, work/study programs, dialect practicum, or homestays in China. ¶5. (U) This training opportunity would encourage continued long-term, high-level language and cultural learning, increase the pool of 4/4 and above Chinese speakers at the FS-03 and FS-02 levels, and strengthen the appeal of the Foreign Service as a career for people with existing Chinese language skills--all by providing training that would routinely be assigned to bring non-Chinese speakers to the 3/3 level. Moreover, this training opportunity would help facilitate the transition from private sector to the Foreign Service, bridge the gap between traditional and simplified character backgrounds, and equalize disparate reading/speaking abilities. It is expected that officers who participate in the above-envisioned two year language training program would follow training with a full-length tour onward assignment in greater China. ¶6. (U) Providing two years of language field study (vice one year at NFATC and one year in the field for those training to the 3/3 level) for selected officers would involve additional costs. However, the pool of officers who already have 2/2 or 3/3 Chinese and want to spend an additional two years in Chinese language training is not large. Extending the opportunity to two officers per year would likely satisfy the demand, and would require a modest amount of BEIJING 00000415 002.4 OF 002 additional EAP Bureau resources to cover the student's post-funded allowances and housing. ¶7. (U) Post also understands that the second year language training extension is a new concept and we would have to deal carefully with a variety of security, budget, and logistical problems. Post is confident, however, that with the Department's support, we can work within constraints to craft effective training programs to benefit core U.S. interests and long-term professional needs in China. ¶8. (U) This cable has been coordinated and cleared with Beijing's language training center. HUNTSMAN